Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Socrates

• Emphasized the Socratic Method of inquiry
• Believed the soul is immortal
• Advocated for the care of the soul as the task of philosophy
• Claimed that virtue is necessary for happiness
• Introduced the concept of self-knowledge (knowing yourself)
• Distinguished between two kinds of existence: visible and invisible
• Argued that the body is a slave to the soul and should be ruled
• Stated that the goal of life is to achieve happiness

Plato

• Was a student of Socrates
• Known for his Theory of Forms
• Proposed three parts of the self: appetitive, rational, and spirit
• Believed that the rational part of the soul should rule over the others
• Believed that the soul is immortal and seeks truth

Aristotle

• Focused on the concept of the self in relation to body and soul, mind and matter, sense and intellect, passion and reason.
• Believed that reason is the supreme power in a human person
• Promoted living a life of moderation (Golden Mean)
• Argued that wisdom and virtue lead to perfection and happiness
• Emphasized the importance of reason governing all life's activities

St. Augustine

• Adopted Plato's view on the immaterial nature of the soul
• Gave a Christian perspective to the Theory of Forms: forms existed within God
• Believed that the soul possesses self-knowledge and awareness
• Suggested that human beings should focus on higher, divine matters
• Argued that the human mind allows us to comprehend truths

St. Thomas Aquinas

• Affirmed the supremacy of reason in a human person
• Recognized that certain truths are only accessible through divine revelation
• Stated that reason and divine revelation never contradict
• Believed in the immortality of the soul and that true happiness is found in God

Rene Descartes

• Father of Modern Western Philosophy
• Emphasized the use of reason and methodological skepticism
• Famous for the phrase "Cogito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am.")
• Argued that the senses can be fooled, so reason is the only reliable source of knowledge

John Locke

• One of the influential Enlightenment thinkers
• Identified the self with consciousness and memory
• Stated that personal identity is based on consciousness, not the body or soul
• Advocated for empiricism, emphasizing the role of experience in knowledge acquisition
• Used the “tabula rasa” metaphor to suggest that the human mind is born empty and filled with experiences.

David Hume

• Scottish philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment
• Believed that the self is a series of incoherent impressions received by the senses
• Concluded that the self does not actually exist
• Emphasized the role of human senses in acquiring knowledge
• Developed the "Bundle Theory" which posited that the self was a bundle of perceptions in constant flux.

Immanuel Kant

• Central figure of modern philosophy
• Proposed the Theory of Self-Consciousness: the human mind structures experience
• Distinguished between the inner self (awareness) and the outer self (senses)
• Introduced the concept of apperception: making sense of ideas by relating them to existing knowledge
• Believed that reason is the ultimate authority on morality
• Argued that war is a result of a lack of enlightenment

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

• An existentialist philosopher
• Focused on the concept of embodied subjectivity, arguing that mind and body are interconnected
• Believed that the body is an integral part of the subjective self.

Gilbert Ryle

• Offered three points against Cartesian dualism
• Argued that mental and physical processes are not separate
• Rejected the idea of a separate mind
• Used the phrase “I act, therefore I am” to emphasize the importance of action in defining the self.

Paul Churchland

• Advocated eliminative materialism: rejects common-sense understanding of mental states
• Claimed that the mind is not a separate entity, but a product of the brain
• Argued that the physical brain is the source of our sense of self.